Students struggle to pay for necessities following a recent tuition spike.
“Obviously it’s stressful, everyone’s stressed out about it,” said sophomore student Stacy Yi at Kennesaw State University. “What I do know is financial aid kind of came after my soul.”
The University System of Georgia has instituted a 2.5% increase of in-state tuition and a 5% increase of out-of-state tuition for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, following a flat rate for six out of the past eight years.
Combined with recent FAFSA reimbursement delays, many students are left clueless as to what their financial status looks like only one month into the new school year.
“It’s just better to be straight-forward, just warn students sooner so students aren’t panicking within the span of two seconds,” said Yi in response to the USG’s lack of communication regarding the recent changes. “I honestly think they should have pushed the deadlines, or told the students something earlier instead of two days before the [class deletion for non-payment] deadline.”
One of the lights at the end of the tunnel for many students has been Kennesaw State University’s food pantry, called the CARES Pantry, which provides free food and hygiene items on allowance for all currently enrolled students.
All items made available to students from the CARES Pantry come from generous donations from on-campus organizations, university staff or fellow students.
Even though the CARES Pantry continues to be a crucial resource for university students, it still has its limitations. Students visiting the CARES Pantry are capped at one visit every two weeks, with limits placed on the number of food items from each food category allowed per visit.
Combined with the apparent lack in fresh produce, with some even found rotting in the bag, the CARES Pantry can only do so much in bridging the gap between financial assistance and sustainable nutrition
Cory Stansberry, a KSU student who works at the CARES Pantry, shared her experience with the influx of students.
“We definitely have a higher increase in the pantry.” said Stansberry. “There are multiple students who come in and say, ‘I’m only eating because of the pantry’.”
In response to the overwhelming number of students calling KSU’s Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships with questions about their award packages, their response was to direct students to the CARES Pantry.
“We were getting two or three calls within the hour. Some people didn’t even know why they were being sent here. They were saying, ‘Hey, I called financial aid and they sent me here,’” Stansberry said.
An official statement from KSU’s Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer Tricia Chastain was released justifying the increase.
“The increase this academic year was necessary to address rising costs and to maintain a quality educational experience for our students. Students needing financial assistance should reach out to the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships to learn about scholarship, grant, and loan opportunities.”
The Sentinel reached out to KSU President Kathy Schwaig and USG Chancellor Sonny Perdue for further comments, but received no response.
